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About Me

Licensed in real estate practice since 1989, Dean deTonnancourt prides himself on exceeding the expectations of his clients and customers with dedicated, professional,
and personalized service.
Currently ranking in the top of all agents statewide in listings and sales, Dean has proven himself as a top producer in his field. Carefully structured marketing plans, including detailed follow-through as well as consistent client feedback and progress reports have become an integral part of Dean's servicing procedures, while the specific concerns of those clients remain top priority throughout the entire process.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

J.D. Power and Associates Reports:As the Housing Market Continues to Fluctuate, Customer Satisfaction with Real Estate Companies Falls among Both Home Buyers and Sellers

Keller Williams Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Both Home Buyers and Sellers

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 15 August 2012-- With home-buyer satisfaction at an all-time low and home-seller satisfaction declining as well, real estate companies are challenged to manage customer expectations as the housing market continues to fluctuate, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Home Buyer/Seller Satisfaction StudySMreleased today.

The study, now in its fifth year, measurescustomer satisfaction of home buyersandsellerswith the largest national real estate companies. Overall satisfaction is determined by examining three factors of the home-buying experience: agent/salesperson; office; and variety of additional services. Four factors are examined for the home-selling experience: agent/salesperson; marketing; office; and variety of additional services.Overall satisfaction among home buyers is at its lowest level in the history of the study, averaging 789 on a 1,000-point scale, compared with 797 in 2011. Satisfaction among sellers has declined as well, averaging 768, compared with 779 in 2011."Although home buyers and sellers are aware of continuing challenges in the real estate market, a key reason satisfaction is down is that customer expectations are not being met, either in terms of sellers having to compromise on their listing price, or for buyers who are compromising on the home's condition and size," said Christina Cooley, senior manager of the real estate practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "This is understandably frustrating all around. However, we also find that real estate companies that set themselves apart in terms of working closely with their customers and meeting their needs may play an important role in both managing expectations, but more importantly, exceeding them."Keller Williams ranks highest in customer satisfaction in both the home-buyer and home-seller segments. Further, Keller Williams achieves the highest scores in all factors across both segments, including agent/salesperson, which is the most important aspect of the customer experience for home buyers and sellers. In the home-buyer segment, Keller Williams is followed in the rankings by Prudential. In the home-seller segment rankings, Keller Williams is followed by Coldwell Banker. The study finds that the highest-performing real estate companies are more consistent at capturing a greater proportion of the listing price. On average, sellers report receiving 89 percent of their listing price. Higher levels of customer satisfaction also translate into higher levels of customer loyalty. Notably, although the agent/salesperson has the largest impact on overall customer satisfaction among both home buyers and sellers, customer loyalty is stronger toward the real estate company than toward the agent. Less than 20 percent of customers say they "definitely will" switch real estate companies if their agent moves to another company. "As customers continue to feel anxious about the current housing market, it requires a combination of a high-performing company, process and resources along with a truly exceptional agent to put home buyers and sellers at ease," said Cooley. "At the end of the day, real estate companies may best satisfy their customers by keeping them informed, educating them on comparable sales information and following up with them after the closing."Additional Industry Findings

The study finds that the majority of home buyers and sellers are experienced with the process, with 60 percent indicating they are repeat buyers and 70 percent indicating they are repeat sellers.

Approximately one-third (33%) of customers indicate they are likely to consider buying or selling a home in the next 12 months.

Among home buyers, 17 percent purchased a foreclosure and 14 percent purchased a short sale. Among sellers, 14 percent of sales were short sales.

The 2012 Home Buyer/Seller Study includes more than 2,990 evaluations from more than 2,790 respondents who bought or sold a home between March 2011 and April 2012. The study was fielded between March and May 2012.About J.D. Power and AssociatesHeadquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, Web intelligence and customer satisfaction. The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information oncar reviews and ratings,car insurance,health insurance,cell phone ratings, and more, please visitJDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.About The McGraw-Hill CompaniesMcGraw-Hill announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a leading provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, a leading education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide. McGraw-Hill Financial's leading brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates. With sales of $6.2 billion in 2011, the Corporation has approximately 23,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available athttp://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.Media Relations Contacts:Jeff Perlman; Brandware Public Relations; Woodland Hills, Calif.; (818) 598-1115;jperlman@brandwarepr.comJohn Tews; J.D. Power and Associates; Troy, Mich.; (248) 680-6218;media.relations@jdpa.comFollow us on Twitter:@JDPowerNo advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates.www.jdpower.com/corporate

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Hiring a Top Producing Realtor Can Make A Big Difference

The process of selecting a Realtor is one that has always fascinated me. Frankly, when selling a home it is one of the most important decisions a consumer can make yet many do not take the necessary time or effort to make a great choice.

I am going to bet that most top producing Realtors that are interviewed probably get the listing somewhere between 85-90% of the time. What about the other 10-15% of the time when a seller makes a poor selection?Unfortunately the barriers to entry in the Real Estate industry are very low. Anyone can become a Realtor pretty easily. The educational requirements are next to nothing. Pass the test to get your license and you are in business! This creates an environment where it is very easy for a consumer to have a poor experience with a Real Estate agent.There are some outstanding Realtors and some that could be best described as Realtor clowns!Working as a Massachusetts Realtor for the past twenty five years, I have learned that people make decisions on who they hire to sell their home for a multitude of reasons. Some choose an agent based on a connection or the personality of that particular agent. Seems simple enough as most people like to work with others they feel may be easy to get along with.There are some sellers who pick a Realtor based solely on the fact that the agent has told them what they want to hear. In order words, the Realtor has misled them about the value of their home.In Real Estate circles this in known as “buying a listing”. Despite the data that is sitting under a sellers nose, human nature often times gets the better of people. Everyone wants to believe their home is worth more money than the next guys down the street. Part of this phenomena is due to emotional attachment.The last factor that guides many sellers thought process is what the Realtor is charging for a commission. People can really get short sighted with this one. Many mistakenly believe that a lower commission charged is money in their pocket. In most cases that is incorrect thinking. A great agent can easily make up a commission savings charged on paper with their skill level, marketing expertise and overall Real Estate knowledge.This is not to say that a great agent may decide to charge a seller less but for god sakes don’t choose a Realtor just for the mere fact the commission rate is lower!Sometimes it is something as simple as total incorrect thinking of the seller’s part. What do you mean by that Bill? When most people need surgery they seek out the doctor that is best qualified to handle the surgery. Typically that is the person that has done the particular surgery successfully numerous times. In the case of a lawyer, most people would seek out the one that wins the majority of their cases. The same could be said for almost any industry. For some reason in Real Estate people do not always think this way.There are times where seller’s will choose a Realtor specifically because the agent has no business. The thought process is that the top producing realtor will be TOO BUSY and they won’t get good service. This is rarely ever the case. There is a reason why the other Realtor has no business. Nobody else wants to hire them!Over the years there have been times where I have done a presentation for someone selling their home and did not get the listing. In my early years, I would be so upset it would nag at me for days. This is not to say that I still do not get disappointed. I think anyone that considers themselves good at what they do should have pride in their performance.There are times when you lose and it is such a hard pill to swallow because you know without question that the seller has just made an awful choice.While looking on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) you notice the home which you interviewed for has just been put on the market. You check to see who has listed the property and your immediate reaction is ….Are you kidding me???If you are a top producing Realtor reading this article you can probably empathize with me.You look at the Realtors name and you either have never heard of the person before or you know they don’t do a lick of business.Just to torture yourself a little further you check out the listing and see the following:

There are only a few photos of the house posted in MLS.

The quality of the photo’s absolutely SUCKS. It is obvious the agent picked up a disposable Kodak camera on the way to take pictures or is using a camera from the 1980′s.

You read the description of the property posted and there is barely anything of value. It clearly looks like the agent didn’t care and just wrote anything to fill the space. Of course there is also either bad grammar, spelling mistakes, or the use of abbreviations that buyers have no clue what they stand for.

At this point you may be in a state of shock but you decide to Google the agents name. Clearly you are expecting to see at least a Real Estate website the agent owns that markets their listings to potential buyers. NOPE…you see nothing…ZIPPO.

You don’t even bother but you know if you head over to some of the most visited Real Estate sites on the internet like Realtor.com, Zillow.com or Trulia.com, the agent will not have done anything to “enhance” the listing by adding extra photos, having detailed descriptions showing off all the best features of your home, as well as adding a video tour.

Unfortunately this is what has happened to the home seller that has chosen the Realtor because they either did one of the following:1.) Lied to you about the value of your home and you believed them.2.) They charged you 1/2 percent less on the commission everyone else was quoting you. You think you saved money but you just cost yourself BIG TIME because you always get what you pay for in life.You see a REAL good Realtor doesn’t need to do these things to win business. A true professional goes the extra mile in everything they do. They have a passion for their work and it shows.So if you are going to be selling your home and meeting with a Real Estate agent you better ask good Realtor interview questions. Don’t get stuck with the Realtor clown above! Do your home work. I can almost guarantee you things are going to get worse from here.I think most would agree having a burger from a steakhouse is better than McDonald’s. It works the same way picking a Realtor as well._________________________________________________________________About the author: The above Real Estate information on picking a top producing Realtor was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-435-5356. Bill has helped people relocate in and out of the greater Metrowest Massachusetts area for the last 25+ Years.Thinking of selling your home? I have a passion for Real Estate and love to share my marketing expertise!I service the following towns in Metrowest MA: Hopkinton, Milford, Southboro, Westboro, Ashland, Holliston, Medway, Franklin, Framingham, Grafton, Hopedale, Mendon, Upton, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Northboro, Bellingham, Uxbridge, Worcester, Sutton, Millbury and Douglas.